Ansari, who currently stars on the NBC comedy "Parks and Recreation," had released his previous stand-up special, "Dangerously Delicious," directly to fans through the Internet. For those without the Netflix service, he plans to do the same, selling the special for $5 through his website six months after the Netflix release.

While Netflix has done original comedy specials before, with John Hodgman and Mike Birbiglia, this is the biggest special the service has aired and is a step toward the company's expansion from original series, such as "House of Cards" and "Arrested Development," into documentaries and stand-up specials.

According to the New York Times, other comedians with specials in the works for Netflix include Marc Maron and Kathleen Madigan. Just as the resurrection of "Arrested Development" on Netflix opened the possibility of other canceled network shows to appear again online, other stand-up comedians could follow suit with deals with the streaming service.